Day 2 done and dusted

When I got in from work this afternoon I decided to go for a run before it started to rain again - it has been on and off all day and the sky was looking ominous so off I set!  After crying from the cold on my last 2 runs I decided to put an extra layer on tonight! Would you believe I was too hot!  One day I'm too cold, the next I'm too hot - I wanna be just right! 

Anyhow, I managed just over 6 miles - albeit slowly and luckily it didn't rain!  You can view my run here. Once home I had a shower, before remembering I had day 2 of the core workout to complete! I managed to do it but it felt so much harder than yesterdays attempt!  I hope it doesn't feel this much harder every day or I could be in severe pain by the end of the 14 days!

Another new challenge!

For some peculiar reason people keep inviting me to take part in silly challenges and stupidly I keep agreeing to them ... so now I'm doing a 14 day everyday core workout challenge which can be viewed here. if I end up with a body like her's I will be a happy bunny!

30 crunches 
10 push ups 
30 secs plank 
15 secs side plank each side 
15 squats 
30 crunches 
10 push ups 
30 secs plank 
15 secs side plank each side 
15 squats

Do not break for longer than 30 seconds between exercises!

Day one done and dusted, followed by 30 minutes run on my treadmill! The only bit I really struggled with was the push ups! I must be a weakling - I had to make them easier by having knees on floor! Maybe in 2 weeks time I will be able to do the full version!! 

Bring on Day 2!

No nakedness ...YET!

Well, its a week tomorrow since I took the pledge to run naked in November ... and it still hasn't happened!  I just can't quite face up to running without my Garmin - I have a pace and mileage obsession! To make matters worse I have been reading a Triathlete magazine and they recommend training to your heart rate rather than watching pace!  Yesterday I went on a 10 mile run wearing my Heart Rate monitor and wanted to keep above 70% effort which for me is keeping my heart rate above 160 BPM.  This was actually more difficult to maintain than I initially thought! No sooner had I got my heart rate up and it would lower again! When I left the house it was a clear bright sunny morning so I was dressed in three-quarter length running tights and a T shirt.  I decided to wear gloves to make sure my hands didn't suffer like they did on my last run! I felt slightly self-conscious and silly wearing a T shirt with gloves but hey ho all non runners think runners are barking anyway so I was just confirming this for them! Anyhow, by the time I got to the bottom of the street the sun went and the sky darkened, by the time I reached the one mile point it was raining and had become really cold and windy. I battled with myself - to take a short cut home or to keep going on the 10 mile route! I kept going, and the rain got heavier!


By the time I got to mile 6 the rain had turned to hailstones, and even though I was wearing gloves my hands were beginning to sting. I was worrying about how I looked running in my (by now) very wet and clingy T shirt! I made it home just as the rain stopped and the sun returned!  Sod's bloody law!  I was shivering uncontrollably and my hands were in agony whilst they warmed up! I'm sure it's not healthy getting into this sort of state!  You can view this run here!

On Friday I decided to get some swimming practice in after  receiving my membership card for the local Tri club!  Time to get serious!  Its been 2 weeks since my last swimming session and I had forgotten everything!  My breathing was all to pot and my arms everywhere.  I came home feeling a complete failure and absolutely exhausted!  

I need to keep practicing on a regular basis with no slacking off until I've perfected my technique!  I have a long way to go! 

Today, I have been on a rest day - well to be honest suffering from a hangover so no running for me!

Great Scottish Run Scrapbook Page - eventually!

I eventually received my certificate for the Great Scottish Run which meant I could finally do my scrapbook page for it!!! 

My other scrapbook pages can be seen here

OW!!!! OW!!!! OW!!!!

For the past few days the weather has been so atrocious I have resorted to some hot and steamy sessions with ROD (just my Treadmill, don't get over-excited!), however it was such a clear night this evening I decided I would hit the streets. But my I was ill prepared.  I put on my long running tights and long sleeve top, but forgot my gloves!  By about mile 4 my fingers were stinging, I tried yanking down my sleeves so that my poor little handies were covered and clutched the cuffs in my fist in an attempt to keep warm. It didn't work!  

Note to self - REMEMBER gloves!  

Other than my hands being freezing I felt like I was going fairly well and could have gone further - with gloves on!  However, I was very disappointed to see my speed was still only an average  9:42 minutes miles - will I ever speed up? You can view this run here!

Once I got home my hands were so cold I wanted to sit and cry!!! OW!!! OW!!! OW!!! 
Once they started to warm up and sting like hell, I started to jump around like a looney! Lesson learnt!!!

Anyhow, tonight I was invited to run naked in November - and I accepted the challenge!

No I haven't totally lost my marbles - I'm not REALLY running naked!    In the running world it means running without i-pods, Garmin's  watches, heart rate monitors or any other new fangled gadget! The challenge is to do it at least once in November.  Running without music is no problem to me - my biggest worry is NO Garmin!  I need to know how far I have run and at what pace - how will I cope? 

I will try it once and see how I fair!! I pledge to run naked in November!

Every girl needs a plan!

Since the Marathon I feel like I have been floundering!  Lots of running friends have booked races already for 2013 but my problem has been I haven't been able to decide whether to concentrate on long distance running, short distance running, cycling sportives, triathlons or duathlons. I have felt bereft without a goal to aim for and have started to feel quite unmotivated. 

Last night I decided a plan was needed!

I printed off a 2013 monthly diary and went through all the race options on the internet and wrote down all the possibilities that interested me in the appropriate month. Next I printed off a year planner on an A4 sheet and marked it with school holidays and our booked holidays to USA.  Studying this made me realise I could easily break the year up into 2 halves. Pre-USA and post-USA!

For quite a while now I have wanted to enter a Triathlon but have been too scared and lacking in confidence to do so!  Last night with the help of Mr Pinot Grigio I decided 2013 WOULD be the year I would achieve this dream.

So ...

working on the principle of splitting the year into 2 I decided that pre-USA I would enter duathlons, triathlons and 5K or 10K runs and post-USA I would concentrate on long distance running and enter Half marathons and perhaps book another marathon.

With this in mind I went through the events I had written down for the months January to July, and selected the short running events, duathons and triathlons I wanted to enter, then did the same for August to December but this time I selected the long running events I wanted to enter. 

A bottle of wine later I had a plan that looked like this:

January - Carlisle 10K run
February - Mad Dog 10K run
March - Stokesley Novice Duathlon
April - Talkin Tarn Duathlon 
           Kendal Sprint Triathlon
May - Manchester 10K
June - Cheshire Sprint Triathlon 

September - Great Scottish Run Half Marathon
                 -The Great North Run Half Marathon
October - The Cumbrian Run Half Marathon
               Dublin Marathon

Unfortunately I couldn't book places on all these whilst I was all enthusiastic as the bookings for most haven't opened yet.

I have confirmed the Mad Dog 10K and Manchester 10K, and will have to keep an eagle eye out for the others opening. 

Next I had to decide which were going to be my main events to train for.  I decided on the Kendal Triathlon, being the first triathlon and downloaded a 16 week beginners triathlon training plan that starts on the 7th January. After my holidays I will have 11 weeks to work a training plan for the marathon in.

I feel much more positive now and almost excited about starting training now I have set my goals!

2012 miles in 2012

Well it's that time of month again - time to tot up the scores on the doors!!

I'm a couple days late with this update as I have just come back from a very over indulgent few days in Dublin.  What a lovely city, very friendly and lots of interesting bars to visit with fabulous live Irish music playing in most! We visited quite a few to warm up in as it's freezing!  I thought it was cold in Cumbria but Dublin top trumps it! They even had singing bus drivers which was a lovely way to amuse us on our travels - made you smile! 

The day before I went to Dublin they held their annual Marathon.  If I had been aware it was on in Half Term I would have booked flights for a couple of days earlier and ran in it!  However, it wasn't to be but from speaking to those who had run in it it seems a good well organised event and the bling looked FAB! If it's in Half Term next year I will look in to running it - a good excuse to revisit Dublin! 

Anyhow, back to 2012 miles in 2012 - How's it going?

October has been the lowest month of the year in terms of total mileage, surprising since its the month I ran the marathon but then again I have had the "recovery" excuse since then and the "Tapering" excuse prior!

So how do this effect the overall total?

That leaves 163.10 miles and only 59 days to do it in!!! 

That's 2.77 miles a day, every day!

There is no way I was ever going to run 2012 miles - good job I changed to all sporting miles! 

I will be chuffed if I manage a total running mileage of 1000 miles, that's 70.5 miles to do in 2 months - hopefully I can do that!!